


Make it right for you

by MaplePaizley



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex is a v sad lil bean, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Comfort, Gen, Herc and Lafayette are really good friends, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 14:31:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11534184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaplePaizley/pseuds/MaplePaizley
Summary: Alex wordlessly handed his phone to his friend. Lafayette raised an eyebrow before reading the text from Angelica that was open on the screen. “It’s a boy. He and Eliza are both fine.”AU where Alex misses the birth





	Make it right for you

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! Your feedback means the world to me!

Lafayette dragged himself into the barracks, shaking out his mane of curls to tie them up in a tighter bun. The day had been exhausting and he was frustrated and tired. All he wanted was some fine wine, a soft bed, and Adrienne’s arms wrapped around him. Since none of those seemed to be feasible options, he supposed he would have to settle for watery beer and conversation with Alexander, the only American he had met thus far who’s French was passable. When he came to Alexander’s room, however, his friend was sitting on the edge of his bed, a worryingly blank look on his face. Alexander had been taking the last few weeks hard; his wife was home, pregnant with their first child, and she must have been getting close to her due date. Lafayette could relate to the crushing anxiety and the specific hollowness of being homesick for a person instead of a place- and he had only left Adrienne with an engagement ring, not a child. However, Alex’s expression was even more distant than it normally was. He barely registered Lafayette entering the room until he was standing right in front of him.

 

“What is it?” Lafayette asked, concerned.

 

Alex wordlessly handed his phone to his friend. Lafayette raised an eyebrow before reading the text from Angelica that was open on the screen. “It’s a boy. He and Eliza are both fine.”

 

Lafayette smiled broadly, clapping Alexander on the shoulder. “Elizabeth had the baby? Congratulations, mon amie!”

 

“Yeah”, Alex murmured quietly.   


“What’s up?” Hercules asked, popping his head into the room. “Who are we congratulating?”

 

“Elizabeth had the baby!” Lafayette called cheerfully.

 

Hercules walked in, wrapping Alex in a bone-crushing hug. “Congrats man! Is the little rugrat a boy or a girl?”

 

“Boy!” Lafayette sang.

 

“That’s so great!” Hercules grinned at Alex, shooting Lafayette a slightly exasperated glare. “Do you and Eliza have a name yet? Can I see a picture of him?”

 

“I don’t know, and no”, Alex said numbly.

 

Lafayette and Hercules shared a worried glance before settling on either side of Alex. “Alexander”, Lafayette murmured, “Are you alright?”

 

Alex put his head in his hands and sobbed ugly, wracking tears. “I can’t believe I wasn’t there”, he cried. “I can’t believe I made Eliza go through that alone.”

 

“Alex, there was a lot of other shit that was out of your control here”, Hercules said, resting a massive, heavy hand on Alexander’s shoulder. “Eliza’s the sweetest person ever, you know she gets this stuff.”

 

“Her sister was there, was she not?” Lafayette said comfortingly. “Angelica is… _une femme tres forte._ Elizabeth too, I think. _”_

 

“She was so scared”, Alex muttered wretchedly. “She was watching these documentaries about giving birth at home, and I think it really messed with her.”

 

“She did it at home?” Hercules asked.

 

“Albany’s a war zone right now” Alex sighed agitatedly. “All the hospitals are being used to treat military personnel right now, and they aren’t that safe to get to in the first place. Angelica was staying with her in case anything went wrong.”

 

“I cannot truly believe” Lafayette said calmly, “that General Schuyler would let his daughter give birth without someone there who knew what they were doing.”

 

“He hired a doctor”, Alex admitted. “But they couldn’t get anesthesia for her. She must have been in so much pain” he finished, whimpering.

 

“First of all”, Hercules began, more sternly. “Between the two of you, you, my friend, are far more prone to fretting than your wife. I’m not entirely convinced that you weren’t more freaked about this than she was.”

 

“Also”, Lafayette interjected. “Being scared is normal, _non_? Should you not have been more concerned if she was relaxed?”

 

“Besides”, Hercules continued. “Angelica said they’re both fine, right? So you don’t need to stress that they’re okay.”

 

Alex nodded, his breathing slowing down slightly. “It’s just that I feel so disconnected from this”, he said, raking his hands through his hair. “I don’t know how long Eliza was in labor for, I haven’t seen a picture of him, I don’t even know my fucking kid’s _name_.”

 

Hercules and Lafayette both nodded sympathetically, squeezing Alex a little tighter. With the possibility that the British would be able to get their location from smartphone technology, they were all stuck using outdated flip phones that could barely pick up reception. It was quite possible that Alex’s son had been born as long as a week ago, and they were only hearing about it now. Even with the limited technology they had to keep in contact with loved ones, Washington was paranoid about overusing cell phones, and had ordered that texts be kept as short as possible. That was, Lafayette mused, probably why Angelica’s text had been as succinct and blunt as it had been.

 

“Did you talk about names at all?” Hercules asked softly.

 

Alex nodded weakly. “Eliza was really set on naming it after one of her sisters if it was a girl. We liked Angelica. We thought we’d try to shorten it to Angie to tell the two of them apart?”

 

“That’s pretty”, Hercules said thoughtfully. “Peggy wasn’t mad that Angelica was gonna get a mini-me?”

 

“Peg summarily banned us from using Margarita.”

 

Lafayette chuckled. “I remember I met her at your wedding. She said to me “don’t call me Margarita if you are not going to buy me one.”

 

Alex snorted. “That sounds about right. I still haven’t totally figured out what Phillip and Catherine were thinking with that one.”

 

“How did they get Peggy from that?” Hercules wondered out loud.

 

“Fuck if I know”, Alex grinned, and the three of them shared a short laugh, although Alex sobered up quickly. "She liked the idea of naming the baby after people”, he said quietly. “She really wanted an AJ.”

 

“AJ?” Lafayette mouthed to Hercules, confused.

 

“Alex junior”, Alexander murmured.

 

“And you did not?” Lafayette asked.

 

“I couldn’t even get this right”, Alex snapped bitterly. “She wanted me to get leave, but all of us thought that this bloody war would be done by now.”

 

“It _should_ have been done by now”, Lafayette said grimly.

 

“Yeah”, Hercules all but growled. “Fucking Lee.”

 

“But that is hardly your fault, Alexander”, Lafayette sighed. “One man alone cannot win a war. If such a thing was possible, it would have been Washington.”

 

“It’s just everything that I do makes me more sure that I don’t deserve someone like her”, Alex said tiredly. “She deserves the world and more, and instead I keep fucking her over.”

 

“Alex you aren’t being rational”, Hercules said firmly. “What else have you done? You’ve only been married for like a year.”

 

“She has issues with all of this. She tries to be really supportive, but she’s always worried that I’m choosing the revolution over her.”

 

Hercules drew Alexander against him tightly in an awkward hug. “Eliza’s not going to hold missing the birth against you, Alexander.”

 

“I know she won’t”, Alex exhaled. “She has the patience of a literal saint. I just wish I could hear her voice, you know? I know she’s okay, but I miss her a ton.”

 

Lafayette sighed. “I am sorry my friend. I wish that there was more that I could say.”

 

“Yeah, me too”, Alex said bitterly. “There isn’t much more to say about this, anyways. I’m already a shitty father and my kid’s only an hour old.”

 

Lafayette grabbed his arm. “You are many things, my friend”, he said sternly. “But it is too early to say if you are a bad father.”

 

“Just remember why you’re here”, Hercules said quietly. “We’re fighting to build a better future for our children. By being here and making the sacrifices you’ve made, you’re already being a great dad.”

 

Alex sniffed, and quickly ducked his head down. “Thank you”, he murmured.

 

“So you never told us if you guys had decided on a name for a boy”, Hercules said softly.

 

Alex gave him a watery smile. “We compromised. She could name it after someone, as long as it wasn’t me. Or her cousin Killian.”

 

“Did you pick anything?”

 

Alex grinned. “I always liked Philip.”


End file.
